I keep going around in circles, well rectangles actually. SoCal must be the epicenter of the criterium. I count forty-two crits, GPs and circuit races on the
SCNCA calendar this year. The distinction between those forms is pretty arbitrary, Bicycle John's "Grand Prix" is on a 1km four-corner nearly flat course while several criteriums are more complicated, with more than four corners and some short hills.
Since the vast majority happen on the flat with really long runs into awesomely fast sprints, it occurred to me that using my nice road bike for this is a little like drag racing with a Ferrari. You might do well, but if something goes wrong the repair bill would be a lot higher than it would be for a Mustang. Also there's lots of stuff on the Ferrari you'll never use. So why not re-think what we're doing here? A few observations:
I know that for a sprint I'd like to reach 35MPH+ and do it somewhere between 120-140RPM. I figure 53x15. In that
gear you're turning 90RPM at 25MPH (typical pack speed) and 141RPM at 39MPH. Second point, the front brake is critical and the rear is only useful for scrubbing off a little speed while moving in a straight line. Third, who cares if the bike weighs 14 pounds or 18, as long as it jumps when you put the hammer down?
So here's the non-existant "Criterium Assault Vehicle" in a nutshell:
- cheap track bike frame, or road frame and single-ator
- track crank with 3/32", 53T ring
- AC Racing 15T 3/32 freewheel
- 3/23" chain with master link
- track bike rear wheel
- front wheel built on disc brake hub
- one good quality hydraulic disc brake (front)
- one rim brake
- winwood cross fork
The rest of it's going to be more or less normal. The disc brake really completes the fantasy here. Hydraulic disc action is vastly more linear and powerful than any rim brake. The real huge problem with my idea is the fork. There may be other carbon fiber crossbike forks with disc tabs, but they're all going to have some design characteristics in common. The rake is 45mm which is going to make the average road bike (with steeper frame angles and 40mm rake) have more trail and become generally more squirrely. (If you don't believe me, have a look at
this. Given that the article was recommended by the late, great Sheldon Brown, I believe it.) The fork coupled with a track frame would be even weirder.
So maybe just a track bike with brakes. That setup would have the advantage of looking great, but I'm sure somebody's done it already. I guess what I miss is a time in the past when people would just try oddball stuff to see how it worked out. C'est la vie!
